Chapter 368: The Citadel’s Attack and Kai’s Crazy Plan

Kai’s eyes remained fixed on the enormous fortress hovering above Cameron City.

He had seen something similar before, and the sight immediately brought back memories, as he had looted quite a lot from there and even obtained Chamber, his A.I. Assistant...

The flying machine had been called a Citadel, a massive floating fortress capable of carrying and deploying an entire army of mechanical units. The one hovering above Cameron City appeared to be the same type of weapon, although Kai couldn’t tell whether it belonged to the same machine civilization that had attacked them before.

What concerned him more was that this Citadel had already begun deploying its forces.

Several large flying machines emerged from the fortress and quickly spread across the sky. Their wide, angular bodies were stabilized by twin rotors, while multiple weapons were mounted beneath their armored frames.

"Impulse..."

Kai recognized the aerial gunships immediately.

Several Impulses separated from the Citadel and began moving toward different areas of Cameron City.

Their weapon systems were already charging, and Kai could tell that they were preparing to attack the city’s defenses.

However, the Impulses were only the beginning.

A much larger machine slowly emerged from beneath the Citadel.

Unlike the gunships, it had a massive disk-shaped body and no visible rotors or engines. It simply hovered in the air, supported by an anti-gravity system that allowed the enormous vessel to remain suspended above the battlefield.

Kai immediately recognized it.

"Dominion..."

The Advanced War Machine moved into position above the city before several hatches opened along its underside.

A moment later, something began pouring out of the vessel.

At first, Kai thought they were ordinary drones, but the sheer number of them quickly made him realize that they were something else. Modified Swarmer Bombers emerged from the Dominion in large groups, spreading throughout the sky before beginning their descent toward Cameron City.

The Dominion wasn’t meant to function as a simple assault weapon. Its purpose was to control the battlefield by continuously deploying smaller units wherever they were needed. While the Impulses could provide direct firepower, the Dominion could keep sending bombers into the battlefield and force the defenders to divide their attention.

’They’re not attacking with everything at once.’

Kai understood what the machine civilization was doing... They’re establishing control of the battlefield first.

Then another group of machines appeared beneath the Citadel.

These ones were much smaller than the Impulses, with long, segmented bodies that gave them the appearance of enormous mechanical snakes.

They moved quickly through the air before descending toward the outskirts of the city.

Kai immediately recognized them as well.

"It’s the Fangs this time..."

Each Fang was capable of carrying five Sentinels, and Kai knew exactly what that meant.

The moment the machines reached the appropriate altitude, their bodies opened, releasing the humanoid robots stored inside.

Five Sentinels dropped from each Fang.

The machines landed heavily on the ground before immediately moving toward the city. Each one stood roughly two meters tall, with their metallic bodies designed to withstand attacks while their mechanical weapons were already being brought into position.

"They’re sending ground forces too."

The more he watched, the clearer the situation became.

The machine civilization wasn’t simply attempting to bombard Cameron City from the sky. The Citadel was deploying a strong invasion force, with different units assigned to different roles.

Yet despite the terrifying display above the city, Kai didn’t immediately feel panic.

Instead, he looked around and noticed something else.

Cameron City had already begun responding.

The moment the Citadel appeared, the city’s defensive systems had activated. Powerful barriers expanded across the outer districts, creating multiple layers of protection around the buildings. Defensive turrets rotated toward the sky, their targeting systems locking onto the incoming machines, while heavy machine guns mounted along the city’s defensive positions began firing controlled bursts.

At the same time, Survivors were rushing through the streets.

Some were heading toward the defensive positions, while others were already gathering their weapons and preparing to intercept the machines that managed to break through the outer defenses.

Cameron City wasn’t some ordinary settlement that could be destroyed simply because a Citadel appeared above it.

There were countless powerful Survivors living inside the city, along with several major factions, advanced weapons, defensive systems, and enough high-level combatants to make any enemy think twice before attempting a direct assault.

Then the first group of Impulse Gunships opened fire...

A series of powerful projectiles streaked across the sky and slammed into the city’s outer barrier.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The enormous defensive field rippled violently with every impact, but it remained intact.

Almost immediately, Cameron City’s defenses responded...

Dozens of concentrated energy attacks shot upward from the defensive turrets and struck one of the Impulses.

Boom!

One of the gunships shook violently in midair with its armor breaking apart in several places, but it somehow managed to stabilize itself and continue flying.

Kai watched the exchange carefully.

The machines had the advantage in numbers and firepower, but Cameron City had something the machine civilization couldn’t easily account for.

People...

Survivors began appearing on rooftops and defensive platforms, some wielding powerful Gene Skills while others operated heavy weapons.

The entire city seemed to awaken as more and more defenders joined the battle.

Another swarm of modified Swarmer Bombers descended from the Dominion, but this time, the city’s ranged fighters opened fire.

The sky immediately erupted with explosions.

Some bombers were destroyed before they could reach the barrier... Others managed to slip through the barrage and continued toward the city, forcing the defensive forces to divide their attention.

At the outskirts, the first group of Sentinels reached the city’s defensive line.

Several Survivors immediately rushed forward to intercept them.

The battle had begun...

Kai’s gaze slowly returned to the enormous Citadel.

The fortress had barely moved since it appeared.

It hadn’t fired its main weapons or seriously attempted to break through the city’s barriers.

It simply hovered above the battlefield while its smaller units continued pouring from its launch ports.

’Are they waiting for something?’

The machine civilization had clearly come prepared... And judging from the sheer number of machines now spreading across the battlefield, this wasn’t a simple raid.

But soon, his confusion was cleared...

As expected, the Citadel soon dropped twelve humanoid machines...

The Ascendant Units had finally arrived.

Kai couldn’t help but smile at this as he consulted Chamber...

"Chamber... What do you think of infiltrating the Citadel?"